The Polychrome Hieroglyph Research Project

Université Libre de Bruxelles - Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences sociales

This page displays details of the selected Monument. Click on the Monument number to list all individual signs ("occurrences") recorded from that object or structure.

Mon. 53


Monument : Amenhotep III KV.22
Period : Dynasty XVIII
Reign(s) : Amenhotep III
High Date : 1390
Low Date : 1352
Monument type : Royal Tomb
Localisation or provenance : Valley of the Kings
References : PM I, 2, 547-550; Hawass (2006).

This is the oldest royal tomb in the database. The images are taken from Hawass (2006, 39-41). The inscriptions are notable for their blue-grey background which has possibly faded from blue or dark grey as in KV.57, where the dark background is representative of the underworld Duat. Blue and green have faded, but are still recognisably different. The overall impression is of black, white, red, yellow and grey. Extensive use of white fill to indicate empty space is visible in signs such as D21, O48, S29, S34, W19 and X8. Unusually, the side of the face D19 is also white rather than the canonical yellow, but as only one occurrence is found in this inscription, this could be due to an oversight by the scribe-painter. The other feature of these wall decorations is the presence of underlying red grid-lines, still clearly visible. This gives the impression of hastily finished work, even though the detail in the hieroglyphs is very fine.